Why?- Dragon riders
by Acia Granger
Summary: A collection of one- shots that open the windows and uncover the story behind the dragon riders imperfections. Why is Fishlegs afraid of heights? Why can't the twins count past 9? Why does Astrid have 'anger issues? Why is Hiccup 'perfect? And why is Snotlout so crazed about winning? The un-told truth...
1. 1- Why the twins can't count past 9

**Hallo! This is just a little short story about the dragon riders. It's not going to be a main upload just now and then. The first one answers the question: why can't the twins count past 9? I'm not that good with comedy so it probably won't be that good but I enjoyed giving it a shot. The twins are about 6 years old in this story. Oh and also the bold parts are from Tuffs point of view and the normal is Ruffs point of view:)**

**Enjoy!:) **

Why the twins can't count past 9

This was stupid! What on Earth was the point in learning to count? Why count how many explosions you were going to set off when you can just blow it all apart? Easier, simpler and faster.

I stared around our living room. The fire was NEVER lit. Apparently we used to set the house on fire if it was- well we still do. Houses were so bland! Just wood and a strip of red carpet. What was the point of a house if it was just so boring? Much better to live in a cave- that would be AWESOME! All wet and slimy and dirty and NOT clean.

"Your turn Ruffy." I stared at my mum with a blank expression her words snapping me out of my beautiful wicked day dream.

"What?" I deadpanned.

"It's your turn to count the sheep." She said in her silly high voice she always used when talking to me or Tuff. I started at the wooden sheep on the living room carpet. How on Earth was I supposed to count the sheep? There were just a bunch of sheep on the floor besides the paint on them was all moulded together so they obviously weren't sheep. They looked more like dead yaks than sheep that were alive.

"They look like dead yaks." I spoke my thoughts aloud.

"Pah! Dead yaks their sheep troll face!"

"Hey! 1: I said they look LIKE dead yaks! And 2: Try looking in the mirror potato head!" I said in uproar to Tuff's comment. I did NOT have the face of a troll! And they didn't LOOK like sheep.

"Wait what? Do I have a face that's a potato? That's so awesome! Someone get me a mirror quick!"

I groaned and rolled my eyes.

"Now, now. Let's get on with the task at hand shall we. Right Ruffnut, count the sheep for me."

"Dead yaks," I muttered.

"Ruff!" Mum told me sternly.

"Ok, ok. Er 1,2,3,5,7,8,9,4,6, and er that's it."

My mum put her head in her hands.

"No troll face! Ha, can't even count and she calls herself a dead yak! I'm the one who deserves to be the dead yak! It goes 9, 6, 2, A, 1, 7, B and THAT'S it!" Tuff yelled.

"HEY, YOU IDIOT THAT ISN'T EVEN NUMBERS!"

"Wait what? I thought they were letters?" he said to know one in particular. "What are numbers?" Thor help us please! Or at least get rid of the potato face! I'm begging you!

"No they're SHEEP PIG FACE!" I yelled in his face.

"WHAT! ME A PIG FACE! YOU STUPID DRAGON THING!"

"I am NOT a dragon!" My retort came back like lightning. Ha, beat that brother!

"YES YOU ARE!"

"NO I'M NOT!"

"ARE!"

"NOT!"

"ARE!"

"NOT!"

"OK! You're all equal! Now can we please get back to the numbers!" My mum screamed over the two of us.

"Whatever." Tuff said. "But you're still a troll face." He said turning to me. I was about to retort when a loud knock thundered through the house.

"Oh that'll be Fishlegs mother. She said she'd come over and help me to, er well, teach you to count. Fishlegs leant when he was 3 years old. That's half the age you are now, and he leant to count all the way to 100" She said with a sigh.

I and Tuff just looked at her with a deadpan.

"Now, I don't want you to fighting or messing around while I'm gone- understand."

I and tuff nodded in unison.

"Good, I'll be back in a minute."

She left closing the door silently behind her.

"**Well this is stupid." I said.**

"**Yeah." Ruff agreed. "Who needs to learn to count anyway?"**

"**Yeah, all you need in life is fire and you're all set." I explained. **

"**Exactly!" There was silence for a minute.**

"**Wait, why don't we just not do anything?" I shouted.**

"**Wait, you mean like just don't learn to count?" she shouted back. **

"**That's EXACTLY what I mean sis." I yelled nodding my head.**

"**Perfect!"**

**We could hear the two mums talking from in the hall way. Then a voice said…**

"**Why don't you go and join the twins in the living room Fishy darling."**

"**Oh great." I heard Ruff say from the side of me. "Fishlegs! Could life get any worse?"**

"**It just did." I said as Fishlegs opened the door and stumbled inside.**

"**Hi guys!" He squeaked. **

**We stared at him.**

"**Er, so are you guys ok?"**

**We stared at him.**

"**How are you doing?"**

**We stared at him.**

"**Er, mum!"**

**We stared at him.**

"**Yes hon?" The voice echoed from within the hallway depths. Hey that was some cool suspense- 'within the hall way depths'. I'm quite proud of myself if I do say so myself. "HA! I just said 'myself' twice in the same sentence; awesome!"**

**Ruff and Fishpoo stared at me.**

"**What!?" Ruff said.**

"**Opps! Er did I say that out loud?"**

"**Ugh yeah!" Ruff deadpanned.**

"**Yes actually you did; but don't worry I do it all the time- my mum just says that when your head is-"**

"**Yeah ok we get it!" I yelled at fishpoo begging for him to not start a lecture. Wait, is his name Fishpoo or Fishlegs? I forgot.**

"**Would you quite yelling- I have a headache!" Ruff yelled turning to me.**

"**You just yelled! You can't tell me not to yell and then yell yourself!" I yelled.**

"**Hey! I can do what I want!" She yelled.**

"**Cannot!" I yelled.**

"**Yes I can, like if I wanted to I could barge into you like a bull and hit you in the head!" She yelled.**

"**Not before I can barge into you like a bull and hit YOU in the head!" I yelled.**

**Then we were running in to each other at high speeds and…**

**BANG! **

**Our helmets clashed together with the force of ten thousand armed Berserkers! **

"**THIS IS AWESOME AND SCARY!" I SCREAMED. Then everything went black in a burst of colour.**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Honey, are you ok?" I heard a voice echo above me. I opened my eyes to reveal my dumb mother looking down at me with fake concern. She even looked a bit sad that I hadn't remained unconscious forever. I don't blame her. Leaping up I turned to an unconscious Tuffnut to my left and yelled.

"THAT WAS AWESOME! WE HAVE TO DO THAT AGAIN."

"What?" Tuff moaned.

"Get up you Gronckle!"

"Actually Gronckle's are-"

"OK! SHUT IT ALREADY!"

Fishlegs backed up into a wall nodding his head like it was on a swivel stick. Both adults glared and me and were about to tell me 'not-to-tell–Fishlegs–to-shut-up-again' when I turned round and spat in Tuffs face.

"What ew? Get off me!" He yelped.

I sniggered in triumph as he sat up. "Ha! Lazy butt head!"

"OK! Both of you calm down." Mum said.

"That was WICKED!" Tuff shouted.

"Alright guys! Let's just get on with counting numbers shall we."

"What's counting?"

"What's numbers?"

_And that's why the twins can't count past 9. Later in life they relearned to count to 9 but could never count beyond that as they would just charge into one another and would forget how to count again and again and again. All through life they relearned and relearned to count to 9 and every week they erased their memories over and over. So children- now you know why NOT to run into other children's heads. _

_If you do you will ruin your chance at GCSE's and A levels and University and other exams in life;)_

_As Merida (Or more like her mum would say)_

"_Legends are lessons they ring with truth."_

_Let's not follow the old Viking tradition shall we;)_


	2. 2- Why is Fishelgs afraid of heights?

**Hey guys! And girls;) A little Christmas present from me to you- the next chapter in 'Why? Dragon riders':) Oh and if you're wondering before you start reading Niflheim is the Viking hell- just in case you didn't know as I mention it a few times in here;)**

Why is Fishlegs afraid of heights?

Fishlegs barely heard his mother's loud yet soft voice roaring up the stairs. He was too engrossed in the grammar book that lay on his lap. His eyes were glued to every word:

_A noun is a word used to name things._

_Common nouns are the names given to general things._

"So…" He started to himself. "A chair would be a common noun." His eyes flittered back to the book and sure enough in the list of examples of a noun a chair was written in neat handwriting under the letter 'C'. Fishlegs grinned to himself.

"FISHY? DARLING TEA'S READY!" Fishlegs' skin almost leaped out his body as his mother's voice, yet again, thundered up the stairs.

"Coming mum!" He answered. He would get back to the book later.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"BOO!"

"Ahh! Will you stop that Tuff! It's called being quiet!"

"Since when have we EVER been quiet?"

Ruff sighed in aspiration. Leave it to her brother to ruin the plan. "Can you see him Snotlout?! How long does it take to glance through a window?" She muttered the last part to herself however, unthankfully; Snotlout heard her.

"Erm… Maybe if your stupid brother stopped moving around I could look through the window a lot EASIER!" Tuff turned and smiled at Ruff sheepishly but she wasn't easily fooled by his 'forgiving' manner.

"Well can you see him?" She spat at Snotlout ignoring her brother with a passion.

"Er… Nope he's not in the room. Maybe he's downstairs."

"Well no. Of course if he's not upstairs he _might_ be downstairs." Ruff drawled sarcastically.

"Hey! This was my plan I'm just letting you guys tag along for something to do."

"Actually no. Most of it was my idea if you remember correctly I'm just letting both of you 'tag along,'" Ruff retorted.

Snotlout just rolled his eyes. "Come on then let's go and get this thing ready." The three of them started to, very er… un- professionally, work their way up the side of Fishlegs house and tumbled in through his open window.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So like the bowl would be a common noun to. I'm not too sure what other types of noun there are- I'll have to read it up. There's everything in that book! Thank you mommy- it's the best birthday present ever!"

"Well you know how important it is to learn honey don't you?" Fishlegs nodded very enthusiastically in response to his mother's wise words. He felt so proud to know that he knew more than most the children on Berk.

Suddenly there was a tremendous crash coming from upstairs and a few shushed whispers. Fishlegs frowned and looked over at his mother who seemed to have noticed nothing. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Yes that would be it- his ears were just picking up the things his brain was imagining.

Fishlegs trotted up the stairs fifteen minutes later to continue reading the excitement of his 'book of grammar'.

He settled down on his cosy bed and opened the book.

_Proper nouns are the names given to people places and official titles. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter. _

Fishlegs gasped. "So Berk's a proper noun! I bet no one else knows about that!" He exclaimed. Sitting there, book in lap, he'd never felt smarter. Well, until they came out…

Before Fishlegs could yell or even make the slightest of sound, as his light flittered out and he was plunged into darkness, a gag thrust its way around Fishlegs' mouth; concealing any sound he feebly tried to make. He thought he heard a giggle but could see nothing in the dark room- he trembled with fear.

"Walk forward great god or I shall damn you to Niflheim." Fishlegs would have gasped had he not had the suffocating cloth bound around his mouth. Niflheim: He shook in terror. "Forward great sun." Fishlegs took a few tentative steps forward. He didn't recognise the voice at all. It was deep and strange sounding; kind of muffled- almost as if the person (or thing) had a cloth over their mouth themselves. Who… no _what_ is it? Fishlegs gulped. What on earth does it want from him? He hadn't stolen anything or done anything bad. They couldn't damn him to Niflheim, could they?

A large hand or at least what felt like a hand shoved him forward and he nearly went flying out the window. Oh how he begged that the moon would stop playing hide and seek and come out so Fishlegs could see.

All Fishlegs could feel were his feet grazing unfamiliar ground and something tugging him in its wake. What was happening? I wish I was at home, Fishlegs sniffed and though he heard another stifled giggle. Was that a monster's voice? Was it coming to take him somewhere and kill him? A big fat tear rolled down his face; his mommy curling around his thoughts. Fishlegs was tired and confused.

The 'monster' led him along a path for what felt like hours. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness but as soon as he could see shadows of monsters arms lurking out the darkness a sack was yanked over his head with such force he choked up a few more tears.

Fishlegs finally heard waves crashing below him; a new sound. Where was he? He swore he heard another snigger aluminate from behind him but he was too afraid to pay attention. He was pushed forward slightly more and then the sack over his head was ripped off. He almost wished it had stayed on for what he saw did little to ease any pain. It just sparked the panic.

A tornado of waves swam beneath his chubby feet. Water smashed into the sharp jagged rocks below spraying droplets as high as the sun. Fishlegs was at least 20 metres off the ground- if not more. One slip; he would go crashing into the depths of Valhalla. Fear struck smouldering coals in his heart and he trembled and whimpered.

"Enjoy the ride friend." The deep voice boomed behind him once more and he heard a scuffling of feet then nothing except the angry waves. He was too scared to turn around. He couldn't shout for help. He was hopeless.

_In the end, at least two suns later, Berkians found Fishlegs frozen with fear at the stop of a very unstable mountain. He hadn't moved for fear he would fall. After that Fishlegs was forever haunted by heights. By crashing waves and fear of falling into darkness. But no one ever knew that the cause of this mysterious monster was in front of their faces; screaming at them. Fishlegs never knew that his haunting monster saw him every day. They spoke to him every day. And once upon a time Fishlegs married one third of his haunting monster. For this haunting monster was in front of his very emerald eyes._

**The twins and Snotlout are just cruel. Kind of like me!;) Anyways MERRY CHRISTMAS READERS!:D I hope you all have a great day:) Don't forget to review;)**


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